“Oh my god, you actually believe that? It’s clearly a plea for attention. I’ll believe it when I see the baby come out of her.”

“Someone was telling me it was Avery’s boyfriend who knocked her up. That’s why she won’t say who the father is, to protect her sister.”

“Really? Cause I heard Avery can’t get pregnant, so Marta got pregnant with Avery’s blessing, so she can raise the kid as her own.”

“So, apparently, I’m barren.” I threw my bag down on the lunch table. Marta, Bradley, and Marie looked up at me with (unfortunately) no confusion. Marta didn’t usually sit with us at lunch, but since some of the girls on this season’s sports team weren’t responding so kindly, she’d come to sit with us—inviting anyone who was still cool with her to join us too. So far, it was just Marie.

“Interesting. I’m a con-women who somehow managed to disguise my naked body so that Bradley thought he was sleeping with you.” Marta poked absentmindedly at something the school was trying to claim was mashed potatoes.

“I’m two-timing the both of you and poked a hole in the wrong condom,” Bradley added.

“I—have nothing to do with your pregnancy.” Marie shrugged and offered Marta a piece of her candy bar. “Sorry.”

“Why would I even know if I was barren at this age? And—and!” I pulled my lunch out of my bag with more force than was strictly necessary. “We’re identical! Wouldn’t any medical issue I have with fertility also be your issue?”

“Something could have happened to you and not Marta since birth that could lead to fertility issues,” Marie answered absentmindedly. We all turned to look at her, my mouth was literally hanging open. “Not helping again, huh? Sorry.” This time she offered me a piece of candy. I accepted since there was never a good time to say no to a free piece of chocolate.

“Why would I poke a hole in either condom?” Bradley said soothingly, resting a hand on the back of my neck, “It’s just gossip. This is one of the biggest deals to hit this area in a long time. We’ve just got to let it blow over.”

“I don’t want to just let it blow over. I want people to stop making shit up about us.” I took a bite of the piece of chocolate in my hand and then decided I wasn’t hungry. I rolled my apple over to Marta, who caught it and took a bite. “This sucks,” I added, unnecessarily.